• Background: Born in Austria, married to Maria Shriver
• Career: Businessman, Bodybuilder, Actor, Governor
• Political Career: Republican appointments to Athletic councils
• Governor: Failed ballot measures and historic climate change legislation
• Criticism: Allegations of sexual harassment, decline in popularity
• Biography Links: Wikipedia, official

Background

• Arnold Schwarzenegger was born in Thal, Austria. He immigrated to the United States at age 21 to develop a career in body building. He became a U.S. citizen in 1983, although he also retains his Austrian citizenship.
• He earned a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Superior, where he graduated Business and International Economics in 1979.
• In 1986, Schwarzenegger married Maria Shriver, a television journalist and niece of past President John F. Kennedy.

Career

• Businessman, 1968-present: Schwarzenegger was a millionaire before his Hollywood career. He has been successful with many business ventures and investments, starting with a bricklaying business he co-founded in 1968. He has investments now include high-value properties, companies, stocks, and bonds.
• Body-builder, 1968-1990's: Schwarzenegger is considered one of the most important figures in the history of bodybuilding. He won the Mr. Olympia competition six consecutive times between 1970-1975 and a seventh time in 1980, during which time he became known as the World's Strongest Man.
• Actor, 1970-present: Debuting in the film Hercules in New York in 1970, his best known work has been The Terminator (1984) and its sequels.
• Governor, 2003-present: Schwarzenegger won re-election with 56.0% in 2006.

Political Career

• Schwarzenegger's initial involvement with politics was during the 1988 Presidential election in which he publicly supported the Reagan-Bush ticket.
• His first appointment by George H.W. Bus to the chair of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, 1990-1993. He later served as Chairman for the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under Republican Governor Pete Wilson.
• In 2003, he successfully ran for governor after Californians voted to recall former Governor Gray Davis. He was reelected in November 2006 for a second term-inator.

Governor

• Schwarzenegger initially enjoyed popular support and legislative success after repealing an unpopular increase in the vehicle registration fee and with legislation that prevents illegal immigrants from obtaining driver's licenses.
• In November 2005, Schwarzenegger called a special election in which four ballot measures he sponsored were defeated by the public.
• In 2003, Schwarzenegger made his first tentative call for western states to seek alternatives to fossil fuels. In 2006, the governor signed California's landmark bill that imposes legally-enforceable limits on greenhouse-gas emissions that returns the state to its 1990 levels by 2020. This effort has inspired other states in cutting emissions.

Criticism

• During his first gubernatorial campaign, allegations of sexual and personal misconduct were raised against Schwarzenegger from six different women who came forward with personal stories. Schwarzenegger admitted to having "behaved badly" in the past.
• Schwarzenegger's support began to decline when he started hassling legislators, calling them girlie men and threatening to take his proposals directly to referendum if met with opposition. He called a special election in 2006, in which all four of the governor's ballot measures failed. He immediately started co-operating with Democrats in raising the state's minimum wage and combating global warming, after which his popularity rebounded.

Biography Links

• Wikipedia
• Official